Chapter 226 227: You Are All My Pride

Mavuika sat down beside her, also looking up at the starry sky.

"Sister." Hela spoke suddenly.

Mavuika turned to look at her.

Hela did not look at her, still gazing at the starry sky. "You are worried about the Celestials."

Mavuika was silent for a moment. "Yes."

Hela said: "Are you worried that we cannot defeat them?"

Mavuika shook his head. "We can manage to kill the Celestial embryo, but after killing it, I am not confident in facing the retaliation from the entire Celestials."

Hela was silent for a moment. "Father said he is old."

Mavuika nodded. "He is indeed old; his power is fading, his body is aging. If we go to war with the Celestials, he might..."

He did not finish his sentence.

Hela finished for him. "He might not be able to hold on."

Mavuika did not deny it.

The two sat on the edge of the Training Ground, silent for a long time. The night wind blew by, carrying the unique, crisp scent of Asgard.

Hela suddenly said: "In the underworld, I learned how to wait."

Mavuika looked at her.

Hela continued: "It is not because I have become gentler, but because in the underworld, there is no one to fight, and being impatient is useless."

She paused.

"But after waiting for a thousand years, I do not want to wait anymore."

Mavuika looked at her, and in those amber eyes, there was a complex, gratified gleam. "I know."

Hela stood up and stretched her body. "Tomorrow, let's go find Father and discuss a plan to deal with the Celestials."

Mavuika also stood up. "Alright."

The two walked out of the Training Ground side by side. Moonlight spilled onto them, casting two long shadows on the ground.

One on the left, one on the right; one gold, one black, like two rivers flowing from the same source, passing through different valleys, and finally merging together again.

Early the next morning, Mavuika and Hela arrived at Odin's study.

The study was on the west side of the palace. It was not large, but it was very quiet. The walls were covered with maps: maps of the Nine Realms, star charts of the Universe, and an ancient celestial map depicting the Celestials.

Odin sat behind the desk with a piece of parchment spread out in front of him, covered with dense runes. He was studying some kind of ancient magic circle. Seeing his two daughters enter, he put down his quill and leaned back against the chair.

"So early," Odin said.

Hela walked to the desk, pressed her hands on the surface, and looked at Odin. "Father, regarding the Celestials, we need a plan."

Odin looked at her, then looked at Mavuika standing behind. "Have you thought it through?"

Odin was silent for a moment. "You know, my body cannot hold on for much longer."

Mavuika's hand clenched slightly. He knew that Odin was telling the truth; his power was fading, his body was aging, and his soul was weary.

He could still sit on the throne, hold the Eternal Spear, and issue majestic commands, but his prime had passed.

"Father," Mavuika said, "We do not expect you to go to the battlefield."

Odin looked at him. "Then what do you expect?"

Mavuika said: "We expect your wisdom. You know more than we do about the Celestials' weaknesses, their social structure, and their methods of attack."

Odin was silent for a moment, then smiled lightly.

"I naturally hope that my experience can help you, but in the face of an absolute difference in power, the role of experience is minimal."

Mavuika also understood this truth and pondered for a moment.

"Facing the Celestials, Asgard must gather every bit of power it can utilize..."

"The Aether Particle." Mavuika thought of this treasure seized from the Dark Elves.

"The reliance the Dark Elves once used to conquer the Universe, one of the six Infinity Stones—the Reality Stone—might provide us with some chance of victory in the coming confrontation."

Odin nodded: "The Infinity Stones are indeed a good asset, but a single Reality Stone is not enough."

"We also have the Valkyrie Legion, the Undead Legion, and my sister and me! I don't believe we cannot defeat those so-called 'Gods'!"

Although a thousand years had allowed Hela to mature significantly, it clearly had not completely changed her temperament.

Odin's constant preaching about the power of the Celestials made her somewhat impatient.

"Those who were once enemies of Asgard have now become the casket of ancient winters, Eternal Flame, and Aether Particle in our treasury. As long as we are together, the Celestials will be no match for us either!"

Odin glanced at her and shook his head.

"Having confidence is a good thing, but you must also have the power to match it."

Hela was clearly unconvinced: "So we just boost others' morale and dampen our own spirit like this?"

Seeing that the father and daughter were about to argue again, Mavuika quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

"Alright, Hela, you know Father didn't mean that."

"However, Father, Hela is also right. Asgard is growing stronger every day. Now that Hela has returned and the Ode of Resurrection is complete, it is not as if we lack the strength to fight."

Under Mavuika's mediation, the two did not end up arguing directly as they had a thousand years ago.

The three sat in the great hall, calmly discussing how to deal with the coming trouble.

Such a scene had not occurred for a long time. Odin looked at his two daughters in front of him, his expression somewhat dazed.

He seemed to return for an instant to a long time ago, when his two daughters followed him to conquer the Nine Realms.

It was the same back then, the three of them discussing tactical arrangements in the great hall.

Because they had the same goal, the atmosphere between the three was very harmonious, and the astonishing Talents displayed by his two daughters made Odin very proud.

After that, once Asgard had conquered the Nine Realms, the father and daughters, having lost their goal, developed disagreements, and they never returned to that mode of getting along.

But now, under the threat of the Celestials, that bygone time seemed to have returned.

It left Odin momentarily lost in thought.

He suddenly had an absurd thought: if the Celestials hadn't planted a seed in Midgard, he probably wouldn't have been able to see this scene again.

He even had to thank those Celestials...

As this thought flashed through his mind, Odin couldn't help but chuckle.

He was really getting old; what was he thinking about...

He looked at his two daughters, who were still earnestly discussing countermeasures, his eyes full of satisfied smiles.

At this moment, he seemed to have truly laid down the majesty of the King of the Gods, transforming into a kindly father whose heart was full of his children.

Mavuika, Hela... and Thor, Loki...

You are all my pride...